PERALTA STONES: Maps to Lost Dutchman’s Gold—or Hoax?

arizonahighways.com january 2005

Pinal

CountyScenery That Makes You Want to Stay Awhile

Driving the Historic Apache Trail How to Kiss An Ostrich Fun With the Big Birds The Happiest Valley In the Rincons A Hidden Escape for Hikers and Campers Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Marble Canyon

{also inside} Grand Canyon FLAGSTAFF JANUARY 2005 National Park 46 DESTINATION HOLBROOK Riparian Preserve Superstition at Water Ranch PHOENIX Mountains Water birds, not to Gilbert mention fish, find an ideal Rooster Cogburn Happy Valley suburban habitat in the Ostrich Ranch COVER/PORTFOLIO HISTORY PEOPLE town of Gilbert. Kitt Peak National TUCSON Observatory 20 32 18 42 BACK ROAD ADVENTURE The Landscapes Rock ‘Maps’ Leading to the Gold? A Story of Determined Love POINTS OF INTEREST The winding Apache Trail follows FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE of Pinal County Little evidence supports the authenticity of the Peralta It took persistence and loyalty for Sam and Eloise lakes and mountains east Stones, three inscribed objects that purport to show to overcome obstacles, but a life together was Travelers in this south-central region find it hard of Phoenix. the way to the Lost Dutchman Mine. their reward. not to stop, look and take in all the appealing scenery. 48 HIKE OF THE MONTH Coffee Flat Trail offers a close-up look at the FOCUS ON NATURE ASTRONOMY LOCATION 30 14 Superstition Mountains’ ruggedness. 6 The Rincon Mountains’ Ogling the Ostriches Listen Here, Sunny Boy, 2 LETTERS & E-MAIL They may look like big ol’ dumb birds, but an We Owe You a Lot 3 TAKING THE OFF-RAMP Happiest Valley inquiring writer finds out they’re actually pretty If not for that life-giving, heat-pulsing globe up Explore Arizona oddities, attractions and pleasures. Wedged snugly between two mountain ranges valuable and clever. in the sky, our fate on Earth would be dire, indeed. 40 HUMOR east of Tucson, this scenic and secluded domain is a great getaway for outdoor enthusiasts. 41 ALONG THE WAY 34 TRAVEL Campers overlooking Marble Canyon find an The Parashant Monument unexpected surprise outside their tent. Defines ‘Way Out There’ Dusty, sprawling, lonely and almost beyond {more stories online} at arizonahighways.com remote, this national wildland harbors a few settlers and adventurous visitors. HUMOR BY GENE PERRET Hiding the edible Christmas goodies leaves our author in a state of anxiety. ONLINE EXTRA The Oatman Family Massacre In 1851, two parents and their children suffered at the hands of marauding Apaches. WEEKEND GETAWAY Tucson’s East Side There are three places visitors won’t want to miss: Pima Air and Space Museum, Colossal Cave Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park. EXPERIENCE ARIZONA A listing of major events in the state is available online. {arizona highways on television}

[this page] Sunrise lights the sky Watch for the weekly half-hour television show inspired by Arizona above the Virgin Mountains in Highways magazine. Independently produced, the show airs at 6:30 p.m. the far northwestern corner of Saturdays in Phoenix (Channel 12) and Flagstaff (Channel 2) and at 4:30 p.m. Arizona, throwing the silhouette Saturdays and Sundays in Tucson (Channel 9). A Spanish version airs of a Joshua tree into spiky relief. at 5 p.m. Saturdays in Phoenix (Channel 33). robert g. mcdonald Popular TV news anchor Robin Sewell hosts the show. [front cover] Veterans of many seasons in the Sonoran Desert, these Pinal County saguaro Photographic Prints Each month, prints of some photographs from cacti grace the landscape at the Available Arizona Highways will be offered for sale. The southern edge of the Sacaton selected photos will be noted in the picture Mountains. See portfolio, page 20. captions and will be available in two formats: neil weidner Poster Prints: On heavy premium paper stock, these 22 by 28-inch posters [back cover] Decaying plant material creates frothy feature the magazine’s logo in the border. Suitable for framing. $29.95. abstractions where Paige Creek Special Edition Prints: Premium images printed on photographic paper flows through Happy Valley in come matted, ready to frame. About 11 by 14 inches, matted to 16 by 20. $79.95. Coronado National Forest east Prints and a variety of framing options are available online at of Tucson. See story, page 6. www.magazineprints.com. Or call toll-free (866) 962-1191. jack dykinga {letters & e-mail} Arizona Oddities, Attractions and Pleasures {taking the off- ramp } JANUARY 2005 VOL. 81, NO. 1

Publisher WIN HOLDEN

Editor ROBERT J. EARLY Senior Editor BETH DEVENY THIS MONTH IN SPECIAL CONTEST COMING “Ain’t” has a valued place in the English language, Managing Editor RANDY SUMMERLIN The Last Ride of Research Editor LORI K. BAKER not only for emphasis or effect, but there are some Watch for our 80th anniversary issue in April. Editorial Administrator CONNIE BOCH a Cowboy Hero ARIZONA You’ll find a contest in which you could win a places where there just isn’t any good substitute. Administrative Assistant NIKKI KIMBEL raft trip for two down the Colorado River through For example, if one wants to say, “Am I not?” there Director of Photography PETER ENSENBERGER ayson old-timers still know Photography Editor RICHARD MAACK the Grand Canyon or entertaining stays at dude isn’t a contraction for it except “Ain’t I?” You can’t the cowboy song about Billy Ten Art Director BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY 1879 ranches near Wickenburg. It’s all part of our say “Amn’t I?” And the commonly used “Aren’t I?” is Vanero. In July 1882, he rode newspapers­ Deputy Art Director BILLIE JO BISHOP P are published grammatically incorrect (would you say, “I are” or “Are through Mogollon Rim country celebration. Art Assistant PAULY HELLER in Arizona, two I?”). So, for whatever value it has, I have stated my Map Designer KEVIN KIBSEY warning ranchers that renegade of which are in opinion. Arizona Highways Books Apaches were storming up Cherry Spanish, with WitWorks® Books seven debuting Defending ‘Ain’t’ Norman Severance, Chloride Editor BOB ALBANO Creek toward Payson, then Green in the last three Lots of us know that usin’ “ain’t” ain’t good English, Associate Editor EVELYN HOWELL Valley. years. Associate Editor PK PERKIN McMAHON but them uptight learned fellers what wrote’cha That one word “ain't” will not taint the children of As the story goes, this brave boy Production Director KIM ENSENBERGER (“Letters & E-mail,” August ’04) obviously ain’t got America. Promotions Art Director RONDA JOHNSON left a note in his own blood, telling Wells, Fargo & enough to do to keep ‘em busy and ain’t got no Sometimes, to add “flavor” to the written word, Webmaster VICKY SNOW settlers of the danger. But did Billy 1884 Co. estimates sense of humor (or style) neither. You just keep on rules need to be bent a bit. To those who shudder Director of Sales & Marketing KELLY MERO really exist? Arizona’s gross annual ­mining writin’ them covers like ya done with that green and cringe from the use of slang, I give this advice: Circulation Director HOLLY CARNAHAN Most believe the story grew output at one there when ya got a point to make. I thought it ”Take off yer dusty blinders. Claw the cotton Finance Director BOB ALLEN out of a poem —“The Last Ride $8,183,743, or was fun, and me and the missus took our old wreck frum those ears of yourn. Try viewing the world as of Paul Venarez,” by Eben $149,221,815 in Fulfillment Director VALERIE J. BECKETT today’s money. up through the Verde Valley right after we seen yer Arizona Highways does. In color!” Information Technology Manager Rexford — published in Youth’s article. Dad gummed if it ain’t green! Michael F. Bruhn, St. George, Utah CINDY BORMANIS Companion magazine Miners in Historical Riches at Wells Fargo Museum Arizona earn Dave Van Dyke, Mesa Thanks to all who weighed in on the controversial FOR CUSTOMER INQUIRIES on December 29, an average of “ain’t” cover line. The poor old editor hasn’t had so OR TO ORDER BY PHONE: 1881. It describes hrough the timbered entrance 1868 stagecoach, an audiotape of $4 per day, Call toll-free: (800) 543-5432 while miners in As I read the protests to the use of the word “ain’t,” much mail since the cacti vs. cactuses controversy In the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., the heroic ride to a short length of mine stagecoach sounds and a narrative Germany garner I was moved to register my vote in defense of that four years ago. Call (602) 712-2000 of Venarez to shaft lie riches from Arizona’s describing a cross-country journey. a mere 40 cents. Or visit us online at: T badly maligned little word. arizonahighways.com warn the town storied mountains: amethyst, Visitors also are welcome to send I am not low-class, crude or uneducated. I have Waterless Gila River For Corporate or Trade Sales: of Crawford silver and one of the state’s largest frivolous messages to each other a master’s degree and am a retired teacher—for a I particularly enjoyed your article (“Pima Baskets,” DOLORES FIELD — no state gold nuggets ever prospected that from the museum’s express office 1897The federal Call (602) 712-2045 ­government short time even an English teacher. While in the August ’04) on the basket making of the Akimel named — that still exist. Such cargo once shared by telegraph to the railroad station. gives more E-MAIL “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR”: master’s degree program, I wrote a paper in defense O’odham, or River People. As a teacher at [email protected] Indians were space with 16 passengers, a driver Much of the museum’s display than $1,700 to ­Arizona of the word “ain’t.” I have always felt that teachers St. Peter Indian Mission School, I have long been Regular Mail: coming. and shotgun guard, on Wells comes from Loring’s Bazar, a Wells Territory to have unduly proscribed it. aware of the beauty and history of these people. Editor The poem’s Fargo stagecoaches that linked Fargo office established by George reimburse it 2039 W. Lewis Ave. for ­keeping Author Janet Webb Farnsworth mentioned that Phoenix, AZ 85009 publication, the Territory to commerce in the Loring on the dirt streets of 1877 ­federal she and Rikki Francisco went to the Salt River to cut Governor Janet Napolitano seven months East. Visitors to the Wells Fargo Phoenix, spittin’ distance from the ­prisoners in U.S. Postal Service local jails STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION willows. Your readers may be interested to know, Director, Department of Transportation before a raid History Museum in downtown museum’s location. until Title of Publication: Arizona Highways Publisher: Win Holden Victor M. Mendez their trials. Publication No.: ISSN 0004-1521 Editor: Robert J. Early however, that there was a time when the Gila River that preceded the Phoenix can check out an authentic Information: (602) 378-1852. Date of Filing: July 30, 2004 Managing Editor: Randy Summerlin; address below flowed through the reservation, and children had to ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION BOARD last battle between The Vulture Frequency of issues: Monthly Chairman Bill Jeffers, Holbrook Mine near Number of issues published annually: Twelve Complete mailing address wade across it to get to school every day. Vice Chairman Dallas “Rusty” Gant, Wickenburg the Tonto Apaches and the U.S. of known office of publication: Wickenburg 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, The Indian people could gather all the native Members Richard “Dick” Hileman, Army, probably inspired Arizona Stanton Still Boasts a Touch of Wild West is sold at a (Maricopa) AZ 85009-2893 Lake Havasu City sheriff’s sale Annual subscription price: $24.00 U.S. one year plants they needed, right in their own back James W. Martin, Willcox cowboys to modify its story. The he town of Stanton got its start on eat fried rattlesnakes and fight mountain for $1,500 Joe Lane, Phoenix Owner: State of Arizona yard, and the Gila River was lined with cottonwood Arizona song follows Rexford Antelope Creek as part of the 1863 Rich lions” to pass the time. But the Post's plans to an Ohio 206 S. 17th Ave. S.L. Schorr, Tucson T businessman. Phoenix, AZ 85007 trees and willows. The desert blossomed in those Delbert Householder, Thatcher nearly word for word, except the Hill gold strike. Three of its buildings — an fell through, and the magazine gave Stanton Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding The mine is 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None days, and every Pima family cultivated its own INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION warriors became Apaches and the 11-room hotel, stage stop and dance away in a jingle contest. The winner, a New one of the The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes has not changed during preceding 12 months. garden. 2003, 2001, 2000, 1998, rider became Billy, who heard the hall — still stand between Congress and York woman, had no idea what to do with a heaviest gold ISSUE DATE FOR CIRCULATION DATA BELOW: 1992, 1990 Magazine of the Year producers in the July ’03-June ’04 June ’04 Gillian Tevlin, Casa Grande fearsome news “in an Arizona Yarnell on County Road 109, 50 miles beat-up ghost town and sold it. Southwest. Average no. Actual no. WESTERN PUBLICATIONS ASSOCIATION copies each copies of 2002 Best Overall Consumer Publication town one day.” Also, Crawford northwest of Phoenix. Visitors must check in at the park office. issue during single issue 2002, 2001 Best Travel & In-transit Magazine preceding published nearest Good Luck Spills Out became “the cow ranch,” Billy’s Today, the Lost Dutchman Mining Information: (928) 427-9908. EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION 12 months to filing date 2003, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992 A. Total number copies printed ...... 315,620 297,025 The photograph of the door of the Bourdon Ranch Best Regional & State Magazine ultimate destination and the Association owns the town and runs an Hay sells for B. Paid circulation 1898 SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS $7 per ton in 1. Outside-county, mail subscriptions . . . . 275,753 259,785 tack house in the article “Show Low to Taylor home of his sweetheart. The story RV park there. But Stanton had a different 2. In-county subscriptions ...... 0 0 FOUNDATION Glendale, but 3. Sales through dealers, carriers, Drive Has Picturesque Streamside Attractions” 2000, 1997 Gold Awards ends with Billy dying of wounds owner in the late 1950s — Saturday Evening costs $20 per street vendors, counter sales and Best Monthly Travel Magazine ton if bought in other non-USPS paid distribution . . . . . 12,305 11,604 (“Back Road Adventure,” August ’04) shows three inflicted during his ride and being Post magazine. 4. Other classes mailed through the USPS . . 0 0 Clifton. C. Total paid circulation ...... 288,058 271,389 horseshoes with their ends pointed downward. At Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published buried on the ranch. The publication bought the 10-acre site D. Free distribution by mail monthly by the Arizona Department of Transporta- 1. Outside-county ...... 831 835 first I thought maybe the picture was inverted, but tion. Subscription price: $21 a year in the U.S., $31 in Some people speculate that with plans to restore it for promotional 2. In-county ...... 0 0 Canada,­ $34 elsewhere outside the U.S. Single copy: 3. Other classes mailed through the USPS . . 0 0 no, it looks right side up. I’ll bet those poor guys $3.99 U.S. Send subscription correspon­ dence­ and if Billy were real, the cow ranch purposes, possibly featuring fictional Wild The Yuma Prison E. Free distribution outside the mail ...... 0 0 change of address information to Arizona High­ways, 1905 F. Total free distribution ...... 831 835 with the Arizona Game and Fish Department are 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Periodical he determined to reach was the West shark Bret Maverick. holds a record G. Total distribution ...... 288,889 272,224 postage paid at Phoenix, AZ and at additional mail- number 347 H. Copies not distributed ...... 26,731 24,801 really having a tough go of it, with their good luck ing office. POSTMASTER­ : send address changes to spread of William Burch, one of Stanton certainly had Wild West convicts. I. Total ...... 315,620 297,025 Arizona High­ways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ J. Percent paid circulation ...... 99.71% 99.69% running out at three times the going rate. Someone 85009. Copyright­ © 2005 by the Arizona­ Depart- Payson’s first settlers in 1877. credentials. As the Prescott paper reported I certify that the statements made by me are correct and complete. Win Holden, ment of Transpor­­ ­­tation. Reproduc­ tion­ in whole or in Publisher ought to get out there and get those shoes part without­­ permission is prohibited. The magazine The song, a cowboy classic, is in 1892, its population liked to “drink blood, does not accept and is not responsible for un­solicited

straightened out. mater­ ials­ provided for editorial consideration.­ MUSEUM HALL SHARLOT H SMITH; DAVID LONGMIRE; LINDA LEFT: FROM CLOCKWISE known throughout the West. Tom Leasure, San Jose, CA Produced in the USA 2 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 3 Produced in the USA {taking the off- ramp }

Canaan in the Desert Five Artists at the Prayer Garden Grand Canyon ocated at the northern edge s the transcontinental of the Phoenix Mountain railroads opened the West L Preserve, the Canaan in the A to Easterners in the Desert prayer garden trades a late 1800s, the need to advertise Question moment of tranquility for the stress these new routes increased of the of city life. dramatically. William Simpson, Month Members of the Evangelical advertising director of the Santa Fe Sisterhood of Mary maintain the Railway, brainstormed the idea of garden, at 9849 N. 40th St. in sponsoring well-known artists to Q What right Phoenix, and welcome visitors from paint scenes of its Southwestern did Arizona give to around the world. route to attract passenger traffic. women eight years A pathway winds its way through In 1910, the railway, in a before the U.S. the desert garden interspersed with joint effort with the American ?government did? reliefs depicting the stations of Jesus’ Lithographic Co., chose five Women were suffering. Benches under canopies popular artists (Thomas ones. On Saturday evenings when Agiven the of paloverde trees, in coves of olive Moran, DeWitt Dining From a the dining room or patio has extra right to vote in trees and near memorials provide Parshall, Elliott Mud Beehive Oven spaces on the board benches, ranch November 1912, Mainly a places to rest and meditate in this Daingerfield, owners Russell and Michael True after a successful War Over natural desert surrounding dotted Frederick Williams line of horses, their riders welcome the public to the 40-year- petition drive Words with saguaros, chollas and fragrant and Edward silhouetted against a blue old tradition started by their father: landed the issue creosote bushes. Pamphlets provide Potthast) to create A velvet sky, threads its way an Indian oven dinner. on the state ballot, “We went to war words of encouragement. paintings of the through saguaro cacti to the corral The special outdoor mud beehive and it was voted with Mexico to get “It’s a holy place where the Grand Canyon. of the White Stallion Ranch west of oven glows with the rosy pink of a into law. Arizona, and now Lord meets people,” said Sister in which we have no idea. We happened in your prayer garden.’” Simpson made Tucson. A couple dozen pairs of eyes desert sunset. Four times as big as While Arizona we should go to war Georjean, a member of the always say when we get to heaven, The garden is open daily from sure the tour was watch from the guest ranch’s living the traditional Pueblo Indian ovens, is the 48th state with her again and Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary. people are going to come up and dawn to dusk; admission is free. highly publicized. room. Sometimes a cowboy wants to it easily accommodates six trays of admitted to the make her take it “Peoples’ lives are touched in ways say to us, ‘You have no idea what Information: (602) 996-4040. In a dramatic ride, and sometimes he just wants to bread, 80 pounds of top round and union, it was the back.” Passing Storm by gesture, on their get to the chow. piles of veggies. The ranch welcomes eighth to grant Thomas Moran — A quote attributed arrival the artists Although the quiet of the guests September through May. Call women the vote. to famed Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman Learn to Survive in the Backcountry were led to the edge of the South bordering Saguaro National Park ahead to check on space for the Colorado led the that he probably never Rim with their eyes closed so that makes the blinking lights of the Saturday Night Indian Oven Dinner. pack in 1893, said. From the Web et’s say you’re hiking in plummeting, what do you do to skills throughout the Southwest the grandeur of the Canyon might city seem far away, city dwellers can Information: (520) 297-0252 followed by Utah site “Bartlett’s Unlikely Quotations” by Jim Cook, northern Arizona and you avoid a frigid night of suffering? for the past 18 years, Nester hit them with full force when they easily drive out for dinner with the or toll-free (888) 977-2624; and Idaho (1896), the self-proclaimed become disoriented, losing Before going on a backcountry possesses survival experience in saw it for the first time. cowpokes — the real and the pretend www.wsranch.com. Washington (1910), “Official State Liar of L your way back to the trailhead trek, consider a class from Flagstaff the Mojave, Sonoran and Great California (1911), Arizona.” and your vehicle. With nightfall survival trainer Tony Nester. Basin deserts of North America. Oregon, Kansas descending and temperatures Teaching wilderness survival Featured on “NBC News,” the LIFE IN ARIZONA 1870s and Arizona (1912). Travel Channel, and in Outside In 1920 the magazine, the survival book Retaining the Estimable Miss Bishop 19th Amendment author has taught courses steeped to the U.S. in Southwest natural history and esidents of Arizona City must should have held their breath wondered whether their treasured, Constitution, archaeology. Rhave heaved a collective sigh for a little longer. but jobless, teacher could afford granting women Nester’s 15-year-old Flagstaff of relief when the school board hired Although the to wait that long. suffrage, was company, Ancient Pathways, has Miss Frances Bishop in April 1872 to estimable Miss Less than a month signed into law. taught primitive and modern teach the town’s children. Not many Bishop turned out after the school’s closing,

wilderness programs for the Sierra women who had taught at a New to be everything Arizona City residents CONTRIBUTORS Club, Ojibwa Indians and the York university in addition to schools they had hoped for found the means of AMY ABRAMS National Park Service. in California would relocate willingly and more, a lack of persuading Miss VERA MARIE BADERTSCHER At his school, you’ll gain to the untamed Arizona Territory. funds forced the tiny Bishop to stay. They LEO W. BANKS valuable outdoor skills while But even the town’s history of floods, school to close after talked her into BUZZ BRANDT exploring ancient ruins and hiking earthquakes and excruciating less than three months. opening a private ALLISON KIEL RAEANN MARSH in spectacular canyon country. summer heat couldn’t keep Miss The board hoped to school, until the JUDITH MASON Information: 928-774-7522; Bishop away. reopen the school four public school could CHRISTINE MAXA www.apathways.com. Maybe the board members months later, but start up again. LISA NATHAM CHERYL SWEET CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: DESERT CABALLEROS WESTERN MUSEUM; WHITE STALLION RANCH; SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY DIEGO HISTORICAL SAN RANCH; STALLION MUSEUM; WHITE WESTERN CABALLEROS DESERT LEFT: FROM CLOCKWISE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LINDA LONGMIRE; EVANGELICAL SISTERHOOD OF MARY; LINDA LONGMIRE LINDA OF MARY; SISTERHOOD EVANGELICAL LONGMIRE; LINDA LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE

4 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 5 happy in the valleyrincons A Hidden Paradise Tucked Between High Peaks Text by GREGORY McNAMEE Photographs by JACK DYKINGA Miner in 1876, for even though a couple of somewhat obliquely, in the name of nearby the Republican related. Red Jack, who had what appear from a distance to be ribbons little towns had recently been founded in Redington Pass. escaped the posse’s first visit, was shot dead of silver. the vicinity, the Indian threat “leaves miles Those ranchers, it seems, mixed with a few days later at the northern approach to The mightiest of those falls — at least in the and miles of good farming and grazing lands some bad company. After the Wells Fargo Happy Valley, an act that “totally annihilated proper weather — feeds Paige Creek, which along the banks of the San Pedro, only wait- stage that ran between Florence and the the Red Jack gang,” according to the paper. crosses the road just to the south of Happy he name has been on the map for a long time now, so long ing for the plow to bring forth crops equal mines at Globe was robbed several times Unhappy beginnings, to be sure, but Valley proper. A barbed-wire fence marks to any produced in Arizona.” in 1883, investigators found that a gang of Happy Valley has seen happier days ever the spot where an unmarked but obvious that no one knows for certain who first applied the moni- Happy Valley never saw much of the plow, outlaws led by a man history knows as “Red since. A gently sloping, grassy bowl bor- trail leads to the sometimes-­thundering cat- ker Happy Valley to the stream-laced, forested basin on the though its luxuriant carpet of grasses speaks Jack” had made the Redfield spread their dered by several perennial streams and aract, which also flows when the monsoon eastern flank of southeastern Arizona’s Rincon Mountains, well of the richness of the ground. Instead, headquarters. There, the Phoenix Republi- stands of cottonwoods, sycamores and oaks, season begins in midsummer. when the era of Apache raids ended, the can reported, a U.S. mail pouch was found, the valley receives ample rainwater— about All that water helps make Happy Valley, Tone of the great “sky islands” within the Coronado National Forest. valley became, in the words of that same along with a horse from the last stagecoach twice as much as falls on the other side of as with all the rest of the Rincon Mountains Perhaps it was a surveyor, or a rancher, or for wishful thinking. Scenic though the correspondent, part of the “vast stock the gang encountered, evidence enough to the mountains, over by Tucson — and snow- and San Pedro Valley, a natural wonderland. a miner, or a farmer. Perhaps it was a casual little vale surely is, after all, it seems to have range” that was southeastern Arizona in convince the pursuing posse to take three melt from 8,482-foot-tall Rincon Peak, the In her lively book The Mountains Next Door, passerby. Perhaps it was someone homesick earned its name in a decidedly unhappy the late 19th and early 20th centuries. of the ranchers to jail at Florence. There crown of the tall range that bounds Happy botanist Janice Emily Bowers tells us that for some other Happy Valley far away — for time, an era when Apache raiders kept the In time, the region east of the Rincons two of them, including Lem, were hanged Valley to the west. In early spring, this 16 species of muhly grass — that is, grass the name pops up on the maps of Virginia, handful of settlers along the nearby San nurtured herds of cattle brought in from by a mob that decided to forgo the niceties snowmelt announces itself Maryland, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania Pedro Valley close to their fires and their neighboring ranches, including one sizable of a trial. spectacularly in the form of [preceding panel, pages 6 and 7] Sunlight streams through a and New Hampshire in the East, as well as rifles at night, and discouraged other set- spread at the northern end of the mountain The third went free. “He went back to great, gushing waterfalls that grassland clearing in Happy Valley, bathing yuccas and Emory oak trees in the warm glow of sunrise east of the Rincon Mountains. California and Oregon on the opposite coast. tlers from spreading out into the valley. range whose original owners, Henry and the ranch, but the strain on his nerves had drop for hundreds of feet, [above] A jagged ridgeline in the Rincons provides a sprawling Or perhaps it was someone with a bent A pity, that, wrote a reporter for the Prescott Lem Redfield, are commemorated, though been too much, and he died within a week,” painting the granite cliffs with view across the valley toward the nearby Little Rincon Mountains.

8 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 9 hard, but all those years have worn little fis- , the air full of sures into the stone that saguaro roots have Bucolic and tranquil used to anchor themselves to the soil. happy sounds of flowing water, the valley seems “When you have a rocky substrate,” says as if it might be more at home in more northerly Peachey, “you don’t have the rodents to eat and easterly climes than these. the seeds that get down into the cracks. Mix that with warm temperatures and rainfall, and you have most of the requirements for of the genus Muhlenbergia — grow here- higher, grassier, but less lush Chihuahuan a healthy population of saguaros.” abouts, an embarrassment of riches for a Desert, and on the edge of another border- The population is healthy, to be sure, biologist and a grazing pronghorn antelope line where these two deserts meet the formi- and anyone curious about those cacti can alike. She attributes much of this diversity dable mass of the Rincon Mountains. bushwhack up the trail from Paige Can- to the great difference in elevation between The sentinels of this border, rising tall yon, which drops down from the east side the mountains’ peaks and the valley floor, above the shindagger and Palmer’s agaves of Happy Valley, into the Little Rincon which makes for a vertical distance of nearly and other midelevation desert plants, are Mountains, bordering the valley to the east. a mile. “Diversity of habitat and climate,” thousands of saguaro cacti, the easternmost I’ve found that trail to be a prime venue for she writes, “means increasing living space concentration of that species to be found moonlight hiking, the saguaros rising like for plants, and the result is more species in in Arizona in any sizeable number. (There ghosts all around. But those mountains, a given place.” are a few isolated stands on the lower San though relatively low, are rough, and my Other streams grace the valley, notably Pedro River, and an even more isolated con- shins have been dotted from time to time the long, meandering watercourse called centration outside Safford.) with agave-spike wounds and rock-induced Ash Creek, which follows Forest Service One reason for the abundance of cacti, punctures to remind me to keep my eyes Road 35 for several miles until the creek notes saguaro researcher Bill Peachey of open even when the moon is bright. curves off to join the San Pedro River. Shel- Sonoran Science Solutions, a Tucson-based A visitor to Happy Valley is likely to see tered in the shade of great cottonwood, consulting firm, is the relative warmth of a hiker here and there, day or night, for the ash, manzanita and other native trees the small plateau on which the forest sits; place has long been a cherished getaway and shrubs, those quiet streams make a nestled between the San Pedro River and spot for locals who enjoy getting a little fine haven for several kinds of fish, none the Rincon Mountains, it is largely safe from dust on their boots. And not just locals: of them quite big enough to worry about frost and receives a steady supply of water. Thanks to the efforts of numerous hiking catching. It makes for fine entertainment, Another reason, notes Peachey, is geologi- and conservation groups throughout the however, to follow the little flashes of sil- cal: The 1.5 billion-year-old finger of diorite state and even farther afield, Happy Val- ver as the fish move upstream and down, that stretches from the Rincons across Happy ley now lies near the Arizona Trail, which sometimes taking cover in the submerged, Valley and down to the river is supremely begins at the Utah border and extends all tangled roots of fallen streamside trees — and sometimes camou- flaging themselves in the paisley swirls of water that pop up here and there, born of chemicals in the tree bark that give the rivu- lets of Happy Valley an oddly psychedelic tinge. Bucolic and tranquil, the air full of happy sounds of flowing water, the valley seems as if it might be more at home in more northerly and easterly climes than these. But the desert is never far away. Indeed, Happy Valley stands on the edge of an ecological bor- derline where the Sonoran Desert shades off into the comparatively

[left] Flowing water and tannic acid from decaying plant life combine to create patterns of swirling foam where Paige Creek pours over a series of waterfalls into a small pool in Happy Valley. [right] Dense stands of sycamore and Emory oak trees flourish near Turkey Creek.

10 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 11 the way south into Mexico. For walkers who aren’t quite as ambitious as that but want a solid workout nonetheless, the Miller Creek leg of the Arizona Trail follows one of the valley’s perennial watercourses uphill for about 4.5 miles, crossing into the eastern confines of Saguaro National Park. The views from Happy Val- ley Saddle, where ponderosa pine trees meet junipers and oaks, are sublime, but I’ve come to understand why someone — again, some unnamed some- one — thought to give the path north into the mountains the daunting name Heartbreak Ridge Trail. One path leads to another, and experienced hikers can find their way from Happy Valley all the way to faraway Mount Lemmon, the summit of the Santa Catalina range, before leaving the Tucson area. Far less strenuous trails await walkers in the lower elevations of Happy Valley, and they’re just as satisfying, bringing walkers alongside yourself against the mountains, hearing the flowing water and those coursing waterfalls, sound of water splashing in the desert, sit- with plenty to see all around. ting in the shade of tall trees or visiting with Bird-watching is another grand attrac- birds and fish — Happy Valley lives up to its tion here, for the San Pedro Valley has long name. been considered one of the nation’s premier Tucson-based Gregory McNamee regards Happy Valley birding spots. In winter, nonmigratory des- as one of the real treasures of southern Arizona, and ert and grassland birds, including an abun- he wishes he had more time to sit under its oak trees dance of sparrows, convene in the lower and do absolutely nothing. Jack Dykinga, also of Tucson, considers the elevations to the south of the valley through ­spectacular beauty of Happy Valley an often overlooked which the dirt access road passes. and underappreciated wilderness. As the road enters the Coronado National Forest and grassland gives way to dense Location: Approximately 50 thickets of trees and bushes, other winged driving miles east of Tucson species begin to appear, including spiky- Getting There: Follow Interstate 10 east from Tucson to Exit 297, crowned phainopepla, brilliantly colored J-Six-Mescal Road. Travel north on Mescal tanagers and kingbirds, wrens, flycatchers Road, which becomes the graded dirt Forest and an armada of woodpeckers, whose Service Road 35. The distance from I-10 to busy attention to the cornucopia of insects Happy Valley is approximately 17 miles. around them has kept me from sleep on Attractions: Hiking, camping (no facilities) and bird-watching. more than one sunrise. Travel Advisory: The dirt road is well Whatever your pleasure may be — proving maintained in most seasons and can be negotiated by a regular passenger vehicle. The maximum speed limit is 30 mph along much of the road. In wet weather, be prepared for [left] A streamside thicket of lip ferns and pointleaf manzanitas prospers at the edge even slower going, and watch for rising water of Miller Creek, another of the watercourses in the many streams that cross the road. beginning on the slopes of the Rincon Mountains Warning: Parts of Happy Valley are private and running through Happy Valley. property. Be alert for and respectful of [above] Squeezed to a tiny rivulet by polished property signs and no-trespassing warnings. granite boulders, Paige Creek spills past Additional Information: Coronado National the scarlet blossoms of a flowering Indian Forest, Santa Catalina Ranger District, (520) paintbrush. 749-8700, www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/scrd.

12 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 13 As Sure as the

Sun RisesThe blazing sphere heats us, fosters our crops and ensures that we live TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY GARY LADD

The silhouette of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, the world’s largest, greets the sunrise atop Kitt Peak, 6,880 feet above the floor of the Sonoran Desert in the Quinlan Mountains.

14 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 15 Peak, New Mexico, and the Global Oscilla- tion Network Group (the “GONG”) with its instruments located across the world. Livingston’s observations end in the late afternoon. After dinner, he and visiting [left] A tracking mirror mounted at the apex of the astronomer Roland Carpenter and I gather 10-story-tall solar telescope in the observing room solely for the plea- directs sunlight to the sure of watching the sunset projected onto observation room. [opposite page, top] a square of white cardboard. As we look Astronomers Roland Carpenter and chat, the disk of the sun sinks through (left) and Bill Livingston a distant cloud, flattening and reddening examine the bright projected image of the sun. as it nears the horizon. The flattening is an [opposite page, below left] On effect of light-refraction of the atmosphere, this day, the telescope reveals the reddening an effect of dust in the air. a small group of sunspots, We watch until the last glint of orange light shown here at the left of the sun’s image. blinks out beyond distant mountains. [opposite page, below right] An hour later, before heading to the dor- The view from ground-level mitory, I look up into the night sky. Up inside the observing room reveals the tracking mirror there, far beyond our solar system, I can at the top of the telescope’s see an extravagance of other stars, a couple massive slanting tunnel. thousand of them. Astronomers have found

It’s midday and I’m standing on the floor of southern the main spectrograph, an instrument that last sunspot maximum occurred in 2001. breaks light into its various colors. It’s not surprising that the sun is so stable. Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Despite the beauty of the surrounding As a brilliant beam of sunlight, 30 inches Its size alone suggests stability. The diam- landscape, one sensation dominates: heat. The intensity of the in diameter, splashes across the room, an eter of the sun, although tiny compared to image of the sun comes into focus on the the truly giant stars, is much larger than sun bakes my head and shoulders, ricochets off the sandy ground spectrograph for Livingston, wearing sun- the diameter of the moon’s orbit around the glasses, to examine. Today’s solar disk is Earth. More than a million Earths could fit and forces distant mountains to ripple like banners. relatively dull with only a few small sun- inside the volume of the sun. Visitors from around the world come to Arizona to experience the spots scattered across its glowing face. Scientists believe that “the sun is . . . very mild temperatures, usually in winter when the sun appears lower “This side of the sun is pretty uninspiring today,” he says. “The far slowly getting brighter,” Livingston says. in the southern sky. Golfers, hikers and outdoor people of div erse side is more active.” He knows this, he says, because he observed a Though the brightening is not detectable, interests soak up our sunlight. Our generally cloudless skies, dry air, larger collection of spots a few days earlier before the sun’s rotation scientists have formed this belief through continental position, latitude, longitude and elevation modulate the carried them from view. Dark features that sometimes appear on the that unlike our sun, most of these stars are theory and by observing other stars. sun’s rays, branding them as uniquely Arizona’s. sun’s surface, sunspots are sites of strong magnetic fields generated members of multiple systems with two or At the end of the afternoon’s observa- The sun drives our agriculture, nourishes our forests and cacti, in the sun’s interior. three stars orbiting their common center tions, Livingston’s giant mirror rotates warms our atmosphere and literally makes our lives possible. Our sun, which astronomers believe is about halfway through its of mass. Each star sheds light across an into its stowed position. The blinding How is it that a bright spot in the sky could do all of this? What estimated 10-billion-year lifetime, converts gigantic amounts of one other­wise inky emptiness. As I gaze upward, white light from our Arizona sun that has exactly is the nature of that thing that blazes with such intensity that element into another. Every second, astronomers have discovered, it reminds me of a nighttime view across flooded into the observing room all day is I can’t bring myself to look at it? 700 million tons of hydrogen are transformed by nuclear fusion into a large, forbidding lake to the twinkling, suddenly extinguished. Only the dreary, To answer those questions, I get back inside my air-conditioned helium. The helium, however, weighs 5 million tons less than the friendly lights of human civilization along distant shores. green glow of the fluorescent light fixtures remains to usher us car, pull onto State Route 86 heading southwest from Tucson, and initial hydrogen. The mass lost in the fusion process becomes elec- When I mosey around the dark summit of Kitt Peak (wary of out of the room. continue toward the National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak. I’ve tromagnetic energy, as expressed in Einstein’s equation, E=mc2, which hostile rattlesnakes), it’s easy to appreciate how lucky we are to We often whine about the heat of our summers in Arizona. made arrangements to spend two days with Dr. Bill Livingston, a we on Earth eventually sense as visible light. Earth, at a distance of live on a planet of just the right size at just the right distance from But without that fabulous sun star, none of us would be here solar astronomer. 93 million miles, catches only about half of a billionth of the sun’s a dependable star of just the right type. to complain. On the mountaintop at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet, the air gigantic energy output. The next morning, Livingston opens the telescope soon after In the 1970s, Gary Ladd worked as a research assistant at Kitt Peak National temperature is 20 degrees cooler. Here, among the world’s largest col- Livingston, in his quest to learn about the sun, has traveled to the sunrise. He and Carpenter go back to their observations. Observatory and at Mount Hopkins Observatory south of Tucson. He now lives in Page. lection of optical telescopes, I’ll find some answers to my questions far reaches of our planet to observe the sun in total eclipse a dozen Livingston’s 30 years of monitoring the sun seem rather epic. But about the Arizona sun, an object so obvious and dependable that times, and the sky was clear each time. Typically only during a total on astronomical scales, the time is insignificant. Most stars blaze Location: Kitt Peak is approximately 56 miles southwest of Tucson. Getting There: From Tucson, drive south on Interstate 10 to most of us never begin to appreciate it. But Livingston does. From the solar eclipse can the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, be examined for billions of years. According to stellar evolution models, in about Interstate 19. Follow I-19 about 1 mile to Ajo Way (State Route 86). mountaintop, two or three days a month, he keeps an eye on it. in detail. 3 billion years our sun will begin to bloat outward as its hydrogen Turn west (right). Follow State 86 west past Three Points to State Livingston usually studies the sun using Kitt Peak’s McMath-Pierce As one of his long-term projects, Livingston has observed the supply dwindles, becoming a giant red star and rendering Earth hot Route 386, the Kitt Peak turnoff. Turn left onto State 386 and drive 12 miles to the Solar Telescope — an angular, white 100-foot-high structure with a sun for nearly 30 years using the same instrumentation specifi- enough that its mountains will sag into oblivion. Then, 2 billion or visitors center at the summit of Kitt Peak. Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. massive slanted shaft that funnels sunlight into a chamber carved cally designed for detecting solar temperature changes that might 3 billion years after that, the sun will collapse into a white dwarf star Fees: Suggested donation of $2 per person for visitors center admission from the mountain’s bedrock. affect global warming on Earth. So far he says he has detected no glowing dimly as it heads to the end of its existence. and self-guided tours. Guided tour fees: $2 adult, $1 children 6-12. The main observing room is a rectangular, underground space with a significant changes. He and other astronomers suspect, however, I ask Livingston how he might generally characterize the sun. Attractions: Visitors center, one‑hour guided tours, self‑guided tours and high ceiling perforated by several openings, or portals. Any of the por- that the sun is subject to periods of variability that could affect “More than anything, it’s constant. Very constant,” he says. There is a picnic area. Reservations are not required for day use. Nightly Observing Programs and Advanced Observing Programs are available by reservation only. tals can direct light from the telescope downward through the observ- Earth’s climate. cycle during which the sun displays frequent sunspots, then decreases Travel Advisory: At an elevation of 6,880 feet, care should be exercised ing room into spectographs below floor level. Beneath other portals, The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope is the largest on Earth. The to only a few, then frequent again on a schedule of about every 11 by those with cardiac or respiratory problems. Dress warmly in winter. mirrors can reflect beams into still other instruments. Livingston uses National Solar Observatory also operates telescopes at Sacramento years. “But those changes are rather superficial,” he explains. The Additional Information: (520) 318‑8200 or (520) 318‑8726; www.noao.edu.

16 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 17 her high school graduation, she of her hands, let alone be able to began teaching in a two-room walk again.” schoolhouse. In 1926, the family packed everything into their Model-T For six months, each week, by S.E. TURNER and moved to McNary. Work as regular as the Santa Fe train was better in the lumber mill for schedule, Sam visited her, taking her father. Eloise taught school the all-night coach to Los Ange- in McNary and studied for an les, spending part of the day with advanced degree in college each her and returning to Holbrook on summer in Flagstaff. She first met the mail train that evening. He Sam in Holbrook. He handled her sat next to her bed and held her train tickets to Flagstaff and car- twisted hand, turning the ring ried her bags for her. around on her finger. “You don’t have to go through with this,” she whispered . Sam walked up to the weath- “Go through with what?” ered train station, its wooden “You know. You can break the outside wall covered with fine, engagement,” she said. “I’d cer- grinding Holbrook dust. He tainly understand.” slapped his trousers clean and “Eloise, I’ll marry you if I have entered quickly before it could to carry you to the altar.” collect again. He slipped on his By November 1931, she could vest. Running his fingers through sit at the family Thanksgiving his thinning hair, he wondered table, the canes propped next to just how he would phrase the her chair, and feed herself. words he wanted to use when he spoke to her. am & loise “Sam,” the telegrapher called The sun broke over the eastern S E [opposite page] Approaching marriage at age 38, Sam Turner knew he out, “your young lady is walking mountains. Brilliant pastel rays up the platform.” had found the love of his life. sculpted the shapes of the sur- [above] Sam and Eloise, photographed here in the mid-1950s, had “Thanks. I’ll be right back.” been married about 27 years when Sam died in 1957, shortly before he rounding desert as Sam opened He hurried outside. was to retire from Santa Fe Railway. his notebook and began to write. “Here, let me take your bag. Some time later, he closed his Here’s your ticket to Flagstaff.” show. But Eloise knew he would come. notebook, removed his vest-pocket watch A Railroad Man’s Devotion “Thank you,” Eloise responded with a After all, he was dependable. and checked the time, stood and brushed smile. “I’ve made arrangements for you to be his trousers. There was a spring in his step Endures To Win His Bride “In September, when you return, let’s moved to the Santa Fe Railway Hospital in as he climbed into the shiny 1930 Cabriolet, have a picnic at the Painted Desert,” he Los Angeles,” Sam told her. “They have a shut the door and stepped on the starter. He e sat alone on the mesa, not moving, mis- Railway,” Eloise countered back. “His idea suggested. staff of specialists who can help straighten turned the car down the dusty road, back to Hplaced in the surrounding silence of the of fun is watching a fast freight whistle “I’d like that,” Eloise answered. “It’s out your body.” U.S. Route 66 and Holbrook. A smile lit his landscape in his suit, tie and business hat, a through Holbrook. He hasn’t had any col- always so beautiful out there.” “But who will pay for it?” face. Today was his wedding day. . . . quiet observer of nature’s magic on February lege. He’s just a Kansas farm boy turned “Don’t worry about that. We just want you 9, 1930. Dawn stroked soft pastel pink and railroad man. Still, he does like to read, he to get the best care,” said Sam. Editor’s Note: In 1934, Eloise gave birth blue hues across the desert. A notebook lay is quiet and considerate and he has a great “The ring is brilliant, Kiddo,” said Mama So it was that in June 1929, six months to their only child, Samuel E. Turner, who at his side. The stately desert dunes bore sense of humor. And he’s dependable,” she Fain. “After two years, I figured it wouldn’t into Eloise’s paraly­sis, a stretcher carry- wrote this story. From 1940 to 1957, the witness to each day’s sunrise and sunset. added thoughtfully. be long before he gave you one.” ing her twisted figure was placed in a spe- elder Sam was station agent for the Santa How often he had driven to this spot where “Will you be seeing him on your next trip “We want to get married by the end of this cial Pullman berth where she started the Fe Railway at Grand Canyon National Park, he had a chance to think, to remember. . . . to Flagstaff?” school year,” she said, smiling. She held her long trip to Los Angeles. South Rim. He died in 1957, shortly before “Oh yes, he’s chief clerk at the Holbrook left hand closer to look again at the ring. For six long months she lay in traction, he was due to retire. Station now. Each time I come back from Eloise entered her first-grade classroom her paralyzed arms curled under her chin. In 1941, Eloise put away the canes for “But he’s 14 years older. I’d be marrying college, he meets me. I can depend on it,” unusually happy that January day in 1929. Sandbags hanging like giant clock weights good, gaining full use of her hands and, an old man,” said Eloise. said Eloise. By noon, she complained of a headache. She slowly straightened her legs. Specialists except for a slight limp, her legs. Her doctor “Don’t look so desperate, Kiddo. There “See,” said Mama Fain with a twinkle in walked home with a fever. The doctor came visited her daily, covering her arms with visited her at the Grand Canyon and said are worse things in marriage than having her eye, “you said it again. You can depend that night. It was typhoid fever. weighted hot pads. Her spindly body was her recovery was a miracle. Eloise earned a husband who is older than you,” Mama on him.” The epidemic swept the town. Eloise’s rubbed and kneaded and massaged. Grad- a master’s degree at Northern Arizona Uni- Fain retorted, drawing on her practical Born in 1906, in Shepherd, Texas, Eloise body was twisted with paralysis. Each ually, her body began to straighten. versity and continued teaching in Clarkdale, wisdom. was the oldest of four surviving children. weekend, Sam drove from Holbrook to “Even so,” her doctor told her anxious until 1970. She died in Tucson in 1991. “But he’s been a bachelor all these years, She was a striking young lady, with dark, McNary to visit her. The hospital staff but hopeful fiancé, “don’t get your hopes Author Sam Turner and his wife, Phyllis, were ­married

living with ‘the boys,’ talking Santa Fe bobbed hair and a slim figure. Upon PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED S.E. BY TURNER AND 2C IMAGERY took bets that he would give up and not up, Sam. She probably won’t have the use at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. They now live in Tucson.

18 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 19 destinat io n

Destination PiNaL Co UnTy Diverse Scenery and Animal Life Greet Those Who Stop and Look

From the highest point near Rice Peak on 7,494-foot Oracle Ridge, to the lowest saltbush flats at 1,000 feet elevation, Pinal County in south- central Arizona contains a wide array of plants, animals and landscapes. The higher northern and eastern border of Pinal County features the Superstition, Dripping Spring, Tortilla and Gali- uro mountains, where indigenous juniper, oak, piñon and sumac trees shelter javelinas and deer year-round and pro- vide a winter home for bluebirds and hawks.The Sawtooth, Picacho, Silver Reef and Table Top mountains loom on its southern and western edges, but most of the county is low and flat. Under the rugged slopes in the arroyos and bajadas of these Southwestern ranges, I have tried in vain to capture mule deer and desert bighorn sheep on film. But patience pays, particularly with photography. For many long, hot hours, sweat soaking my clothes, stinging my eyes and smudging my glasses, I have waited for Gambel’s quail to come to water. And if I were lucky, maybe a green-tailed towhee or a cardinal would pose for a portrait. Other parts of the county have unique features as well. I am always amazed at a rock garden 15 miles east of Florence on the Florence-Kelvin Highway, on the north side of the road, where pine trees grow within a few feet of saguaros and white-tailed deer dart through the nearby ocotillos and cholla cacti. How could they prefer this hot, harsh area to that of the cooler oak and manzanita country? Slicing through the county, beautiful waterways like the San Pedro River and Aravaipa Creek attract mule deer and bobcats. These riparian areas also provide sanctuaries for rare bird species like Mississippi kites, black hawks and the more abundant Gila woodpeckers and Scott’s orioles. Huge cottonwood and sycamore trees grow here, and in the fall, their yellow and reddish-brown canopies paint miles of beautiful color. My walks along the creek bottoms — enjoy- ing the smells of dried leaves, trickling water and singing birds — always stimulate my creativity. The diversity and unexpected aspects of the landscape make Pinal County special for me, and for others who take the time to look. A PORT FoLio by Neil Weidner

arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 21 A PORT FoLio

[preceding panel, pages 20 and 21] Harried by ceaseless weathering, a granite rock formation in North Mountain Park near Casa Grande presents a fragmented facade. [far left] Saguaro cacti and rugged cliffs of the Superstition Mountains bathe in the fading glow of the setting sun. [above] A denizen of desert washes and mesquite thickets, the northern cardinal may be spotted throughout Pinal County. [left] The showy white blooms of a saguaro cactus attract a variety of desert creatures, including bees and moths, bats and birds.

22 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 23 24 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 25 A PORT FoLio

[preceding panel, pages 24 and 25] Soft sunlight just touches an imposing saguaro cactus and a granite rock in the desert east of Florence. To order a print of this photograph, see page 1. [top] Scott’s orioles often nest in yuccas, using the plant’s fibers to help create suspended basket-shaped domiciles in which to rear their young. [left] Dramatic yellow blossoms signal the last act for a golden-flowered agave, a plant that lives for several years, flowers once, then dies. [right] The Sacaton Mountains stretch east and west through the southern portion of the Gila River Indian Community north of Casa Grande.

26 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 27 A PORT FoLio

[far left] Table Top Mountain, at 4,373 feet, is one of the tallest peaks within the newly designated Sonoran Desert National Monument southwest of Phoenix. [above] Buzzing aerial displays during courtship mark the male Anna’s hummingbird as one of the most vocal of the species. [left] The delicate magenta flowers of the strawberry hedgehog cactus seem incongruously placed among its spiky armament.

28 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 29 ostrich egg. Put it in a spaghetti pot filled very wild. Ostriches have No dummies, with water and go take a nap. It can take up only been kept by humans, to two hours to hardboil an ostrich egg. or farmed, since the mid- A lot of these ostrich facts come from 1800s, compared to cows, Lucille Cogburn, wife of the man with the which have been domesti- bib overalls and white bushy eyebrows. As cated for thousands of years. Lucille and I talk, Rooster Cogburn stands When an ostrich is scared, several feet away bellowing at his birds like it will run right into a fence. These a hog farmer with a reedy falsetto. Lucille Some people might find has seen and heard his antics before and that very stupid. But, the smiles benignly. He’s having fun yelling instinct to run at the first at his birds, she seems to say, but let’s get sight or sound of danger is back to our talk about the intelligence of very strong in them. That’s ostriches. what keeps them alive in “You know,” she remarks, the wild.” “If you want to kiss one of these ostriches, you do it like “these birds are not real bright, [opposite page] Karen once had a half-blind ostrich Ostriches —the this,” says D.C. “Rooster” Cogburn, stretching a but they got the tourist bit named Stevie, which she had raised from BiG largest birds on beefy hand over a tall chain-link fence. He pulls down good. As soon as a car earth—have thick a chick. Trying to convince me of the an ostrich forward by its coarse, long neck, pulls into the parking area, eyelashes that power of an ostrich’s brain, she told me t protect their eyes c s quickly folds his hands around its toothless they go racing for the fence this story: Os ri he during sandstorms mouth and kisses it on the bill. looking for handouts.” in their native dry “Stevie loved to eat the leaves off our fruit Cogburn has more than 1,500 South At the east end of their grassland habitats trees. He’d look you in the eye, look up at To Make Afri­can black ostriches on his Rooster farm, the Cogburns have a of Africa and the the leaves in the tree and then look you in Middle East. Cogburn Ostrich Ranch at the base of stand where, for $2, they’ll [above and left] the eye again, his way of asking for some. S u r e , W e Picacho Peak some 45 miles north- sell you a cup with 8 ounces Dorothy Vezo Does that sound like stupid to you? He west of Tucson, and as far as he’s of corn and rabbit pellets. offers corn and loved mulberry leaves.” rabbit pellets concerned, they’re just birds of a As soon as a car arrives, the from a styrofoam There also seems to be some question about Sent a feather. ostriches all seem to know cup to one of the link between curiosity and intel­ligence. “Big dumb turkeys is all they this transaction is about to D.C. “Rooster” We tend to think that a person who is very are,” he says. take place, and they’re ready, Cogburn’s ostriches, curious about everything may be intel­­ligent Writer of only to have the Cogburn, 65, pushes back his their long gray necks bob- cup unexpectedly (or, in some cases, just a busybody). straw hat and struts off in his bib bing above the fence the snatched out of her If curiosity signifies intelligence, then High overalls, leaving me with some advice: minute you get out of your hand. ostriches may be absolutely brilliant. They “Talk to my wife. She knows more about vehicle. want to investigate everything on you. If these birds than anybody.” How dumb can they be? very lean and similar to beef,” Lucille says. you happen to be wearing a shirt with but- Intellect First, however, I stop a tourist and ask In some ways, Rooster implies, not much “We also sell the feathers and their hides, tons, or jewelry, you don’t want to get too why she and her family left the nearby dumber than some human beings. “Two which is the most expensive exotic leather cozy with an ostrich. They’ll peck the pearl Out to Inter­state 10 at Exit 219 to visit these big different advertising agencies wanted to around.” The leather is often used for boots, buttons off your nice Western shirt and pull birds. come here to take pictures of ostriches pocketbooks and wallets. stuff out of your pockets faster than a thief “We wanted to see how dumb they burying their heads in the ground,” he says. She also tells me that ostrich feathers on the Rome metro. Investigate were,” she says. “Can you imagine that supposedly intelli- are great for dusting because dust adheres They’re also fast on their feet. In Africa, Which intrigues me no end. Are gent professionals would believe something to them. Other feather dusters just move wild ostriches can run up to 35 miles per text by Sam Negri photographs by Tom Vezo ostriches really dumb? like that?” the dust around, but these actually pick it hour in short bursts. They get to be 10 feet The late Ogden Nash, who was known I gulp and look incredulous. up, she insists. She gave me a long-handled tall and can weigh up to 400 pounds. The for his humorous verse, once expressed “That’s an ostrich myth,” Lucille says. “In ostrich feather duster to take home. I gave single major claw on each foot is its only humane relief when he learned that the desert, wild ostriches sitting on a nest it to my wife. Now neither one of us knows weapon, used for defense. One kick by a ostriches sit down to lay their eggs. So, of eggs will lie down and put their necks where it is, and the house looks pretty much wild ostrich can gut a lion. it may be true that an ostrich’s eye is along the ground for protection, and from the same. Which may be why Cogburn kept a fence larger than its brain, but let’s not jump to a distance it just looks like they’re burying One day I discovered that a friend, Karen between himself and the ostrich he kissed. conclusions. At least ostrich hens know their heads.” Gonzales, had worked with ostriches for You never know when you’ll run into an instinctively that if they just sit down at Of course! I knew that. several years. I could tell she was bristling ostrich in a foul mood. the right moment, they can avoid extinc- Lucille wants me to know that ostriches when I suggested that ostriches might not tion. That’s not dumb. live 40 to 70 years, and one of their eggs is be the brightest citizens in the animal Since writing this story, Sam Negri of Tucson has On the contrary, considering that equal to about two dozen chicken eggs. kingdom. located his feather duster and is currently enrolled at a an ostrich egg weighs between 3 and 4 “They’re sweeter and fluffier than regular “I don’t think they’re stupid,” she insists. major university to learn how to use it. Tom Vezo of Green Valley says the visit to the ostrich pounds, you can see that sitting down is eggs,” she says. And plentiful: Domesticated “Because they’re only a few generations from farm was one of his most entertaining ­assignments of a brilliant maneuver. An ostrich egg is South African black ostriches will lay 60 to being hatched in the wild, they still act all time. no trifle. It’s so large it can be used for an 80 eggs a year. All you need is your own Location: About 45 miles northwest of Tucson. omelet that would feed 10 normal people ostrich and a forklift truck, and you can Hours: Open daily 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except major holidays. or one overweight writer. harvest enough cholesterol to float a barge. Fees: $2 admission. Don’t like omelets? Try a hard-boiled “We raise ostriches for meat, which is Additional Information: (520) 466-3658; www.roostercogburn.com.

30 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 31 offered to give up their shares of the gold for the rights to the prop- out in the open, there would be lichen, weathering of the symbols erty. Peralta, who needed cash, agreed. The two friends are said to and discoloration of the stone material. Just look at old headstones have extracted great quantities of high-grade ore from the mine, in any cemetery.” which they buried in numerous pits in the area for safekeeping. The question of how the Peralta Stones were made also debunks Then disaster followed. After a trip to a nearby town for supplies, the idea that the rocks were carved before the 20th century. Waltz returned to find their camp destroyed and Weiser gone. Dev- “The pair of dark stones were mechanically sanded and then astated by the disappearance of his friend, the Dutchman grabbed drilled,” Adams says. “In many places, there is a ‘start dimple’ where what gold he could carry and left. the drill first touched the stone.” Weiser, who was severely injured in the raid and would eventu- The use of an electric drill to create the drawings and symbols, ally succumb to his wounds, escaped and was rescued by peaceful as well as the shape of the stones, most likely dates their carving to Pima Indians. He, too, believed his partner was dead. Neither man sometime after 1940. Hauling around 75 pounds of “map” could not T H E P would ever learn the truth. have been very practical. So one might expect that rock maps lead- THE PERALTA STONES Though there were rumors that Weiser had created a rawhide ing to treasure in the Superstitions might be made from sandstone map and Waltz had tried to explain the location of the mine to a common to the mountains. However, Dr. Elizabeth Miksa, also a family who had befriended him as he lay dying in 1891, the buried research geologist with Desert Archaeology, explains that the Per- caches of gold were never found. It has been theorized that Apache alta Stones originated far from where they were supposedly found. Indians, who considered the Superstition Mountains sacred, filled in “The big stone with the horse on it appears to be Coconino the open pit, disguising the mine’s location. An earthquake in 1887 Sandstone,” she explains. “The other two sandstones are very soft, further muddled the landscape, changing the area so extensively very fine, iron-rich . . . sandstones. [These] are most likely found on that the gold — if there is any — remains hidden to the Mogollon Rim or in this day. northern Arizona.” The Peralta Stones — three approximately 10 by 17- And what about the inch 25-pound slabs — were supposedly discovered words? Poorly spelled Span- buried in the desert between Florence and Apache ish phrases have been EMaps to the R Lost Dutchman A Gold L Mine Junction by an Oregon couple in 1954. Currently under translated to mean the fol- lock and key at the Arizona lowing: “This trail is dan- [opposite page] The Mining and Mineral Museum mysterious Peralta gerous. I go 18 places.” And, in Phoenix, the rocks had never Stones depict “Search the map. Search the or been examined by a profes- (clockwise from far heart.” The heart, about the left): a horse, various sional archaeologist, geologist squiggles suggesting size of a 6-inch salad plate, or historian. At least, not any a map, and a heart is a removable, engraved who allowed his or her name cutout. stone that fits snuggly into Hoax? to be used. (In 1965, ­­Travis [right] Lesley a recessed carving in one of the rocks. Presmyk, vice ­Marlowe, whose real name chairman of the •• o n e x hibi t Two other phrases translated as “The is Clarence O. ­Mitchell, pub- Arizona Mineral It has been 35 years since the horse of Santa Fe” and “I graze to the lished a book titled Superstition and Mining Museum Peralta Stones were first dis- north of the river” are similarly baffling. Foundation, uses a Treasures. In the foreword, he magnifier to examine played at the inaugural Flagg Some say the blocky, poor writing is T AText by ANNE MONTGOMERY S Photographs by PETER T NOEBELS explained that the stones were the Peralta Stones for Foundation Tailgate Mineral another clue that the Peralta Stones are “examined by a professor of clues regarding their Show at the Don’s Club Grounds probably phony. Words are written in all geology at one of the state uni- origins. in the Superstition Mountains. capital letters, and even common words versities who declared them to Since that time, the stones — or like caballo (horse) are misspelled as be genuine and carved approximately 100 years ago.” the molded facsimiles that were cobollo. The author never gave the geologist’s name.) on exhibit at the Mesa Southwest Historical archaeologist Homer Thiel The people who supposedly discovered the stones Museum — were viewable only of Desert Archaeology finds this diag- and the early “promoters” are all dead. Others who with certain “secret” portions nosis easy. “The lettering is completely

claimed to believe in their authenticity, and some Per alta stones intriguingly taped over. But on wrong for the Spanish language docu- who may have used them for get-rich-quick schemes, January 7, 8 and 9, the Peralta Stones ments of the [supposed] time period.” are nowhere to be found. will be on display in all their quirky Although the evidence seems to sug- A drawing of a standing horse dominates one of the weirdness at the 23rd Flagg Gem and gest that the Peralta Stones are elaborate Peralta stones. On its reverse side, a witch or priest Mineral Show in Mesa. forgeries, many treasure hunters show O re t he controv er s i a Nl P er a lta Stone s EWaltz — whom most peopleS called the figure carries a cross. Squiggly lines, circles with dots The event, sponsored by the Arizona great interest. actually “stone maps” that lead to the Lost Dutch- “Dutchman” — and his lifelong friend, Jacob in the middle and unidentified markings resembling Mineral and Mining Museum Foundation “People . . . come, they pay money to A man Gold Mine? Did they lie buried in the desert Weiser, met Don Miguel Peralta, member a map abound on the front side of a second stone, and the Mesa Community College Geol- photograph them,” says Ray Grant, for almost 100 years before being discovered at the foot of a powerful family from Sonora, Mexico. while the word “DON” is etched on its back. The back ogy Club, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. chairman of the Arizona Mineral and of the Superstition Mountains? Are they clues to the Holy Peralta, whose fortunes were sagging, con- side of the third stone bears a large Christian cross, It will be held at the Mesa Community Mining Museum Foundation. “I think Grail for treasure hunters worldwide? vinced Waltz and Weiser to accompany and its front displays a cutout heart shape. College west parking lot on Dobson people just like lost treasure stories.” Until recently, hard evidence on the incised sandstone him for security on an expedition he was Research archaeologist Dr. Jenny Adams of Des- Road, between Southern Avenue and slabs has been scarce. But thanks to some scientific leading to the Superstitions, where he ert Archaeology Inc., a Tucson-based consulting the Superstition Freeway. Admission Anne Montgomery of Phoenix, an avid ­mineral sleuthing, we may finally have answers to the Peralta hoped to locate rich gold veins discovered service, finds the discovery part of the story hard and parking are free. collector, got to spend some private time with the Stones’ puzzle. by his family 20 years earlier. to believe. “There is no evidence these stones were Additional Information: (480) 814- Peralta Stones. Now, she’s off to find the gold. Peter Noebels of Tucson says he would not bet The story behind the stones goes something like this: They found the place and after mining ever buried. The stone material is very soft, and 9086 or (602) 255-3795, extension 10. a nickel on finding any treasures using the cryptic Sometime in the early 1860s, German-born miner Jacob gold from an open pit, Waltz and Weiser there would be a lot of random abrasions. If they sat information on the Peralta Stones.

32 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 33 A MONUMENT to LONELINESS

thick brown dust cloud riding a tailwind boils up from the pickup A truck’s tires, half-blinding me as I jolt down a washboard road on the Arizona Strip through Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. Ahead, some wind- propelled tumbleweeds rolling down the road look like the rumps of fleeing animals. A map lies beside me on the seat of the truck, but it’s really pointless since only one road heads the way I’m going, and there’s no possibility of becoming lost — provided I stay on it. There are no road signs to guide me, no people and consequently no litter, as I bore deeper on the third day into this raw, parched country. Out front, and out of civilian radio range, Flagstaff photographer Robert McDonald rides inside his own per- sonal dust cloud. We’re a full day’s drive north of Phoenix. • So big and empty is the Parashant, as the monument is known, that it resists casual description. For one thing, it’s inseparable geographically from the Arizona Strip, a political anomaly north of the Grand Can- yon whimsically referred to around here as “Baja Utah.” Arizonans’ only drivable link- age to the Strip is across the Navajo Bridge on U.S. Route 89A southwest of Page. The Arizona Strip extends south of Utah and north of the Grand Canyon from the Nevada border to the Navajo Indian Reser- vation. Two other roads through the Strip

TEXT BY TOM KUHN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT G. McDONALD

34 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 35 [preceding panel, pages 34 and 35] Windows of an abandoned schoolhouse overlook the Arizona Strip north of the Grand Canyon, an area 19th-century cowboys called the “high, wide and lonesome country.” [left] Rugged and beautiful Whitmore Canyon, one of several important Colorado River drainages, provides a colorful vista and testament to the area’s rich geologic history spanning almost 2 billion years. [above] Yuccas, purple sage and cholla cacti proliferate in the lower Mohave Desert section of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument near the Arizona-Nevada border, with Nevada’s Whitney Ridge as a backdrop.

government four-wheel-drive trucks rattle further endangering their fragile existence. and squeak in protest as we slide down- Several hours and 96 beeline miles ward into the Mohave Desert. out of St. George, we pull up where Tassi Grand Wash Road is one of the through- Spring flows from the ground at 1,600 feet routes. The other two are “Main Street,” a elevation beside an abandoned ranch house settler’s nickname for BLM Road 1069 out marked for federal preservation. We’re just of St. George to the settlement of Mount 3 miles short of Lake Mead’s Grand Wash Trumbull, and Mohave County Road 5 Bay. By the time we finish our Tassi Spring to Toroweap Point just west of Fredonia visit, the day is more than half gone and it’s through the Kaibab-Paiute Indian Reserva- time to turn around. tion. “Grand Wash was a trade and travel We detour up Pakoon Wash past Joshua route for as long as people have lived in the trees and across a high pass that looks down area, Native Americans as well as settlers,” on the lake, before doubling back onto Grand enter from Utah and Nevada, respectively. there, the Parashant remains grindingly could love the region’s 6,000 miles of roads. air-conditioned motel room in St. George BLM archaeologist Diana Hawks tells us. Wash Road. Here and everywhere on the Take any of these roads far enough south wild and tough. Elevations differ by 7,000 “This national monument is quite differ- to start our first day on the Parashant by Hawks has traced salt found in Hohokam Parashant, much of the land is dun-colored and you drift onto the 1,014,000-acre Para- feet, temperatures from sizzling to moun- ent from any other,” says Roger C. Taylor of joining two trucks full of BLM and National settlements near Phoenix to a large ancient open range. shant. Travel farther and you could topple tain cool on the same day. The biggest chal- St. George, Utah, the BLM field manager for Park Service people on an inspection tour mine now covered by Lake Mead. Back in St. George that evening, the into the Colorado River gorge or Lake lenge facing government managers, says the Arizona Strip and the Parashant, in an to Tassi Spring in the monument’s south- Someone in the lead truck spots a desert motel room provides an oasis after a day of Mead. Within the monument’s boundaries one official, “is protecting people from interview midway through our adventure. western sector. Because the Parashant incor­ tortoise beside the road with “8X10” sten- heat and road bumps. lie scorched desert, plunging cliffs, grass- themselves” when they arrive unprepared. “In other national monuments, there’s a fea- porates part of the Lake Mead National ciled on its carapace. Soon we come upon Next morning, with tanks topped off and land prairies, breezy highlands and darn So mean are the roads on the Arizona ture out there, or a building or pueblo, and Recreation Area, the BLM and NPS — both Michael J. Boyles, a National Park Service two jerry cans of extra gasoline, McDonald little water. Arizona’s largest mule deer live Strip and the Parashant that the U.S. Bureau routes that are usually paved right to that Interior Department agencies — jointly man- wildlife biologist counting the Mohave and I head out alone for Mount Trumbull, 85 here, and plenty of rattlesnakes. of Land Management warns tourists not to feature. Anywhere you go out there [in the age the monument. population of protected desert tortoises in miles south of St. George. We race our dust A small spike of traffic occurred after the venture out here in low-clearance cars or in Parashant] is an all-day trip. There are no With lunches and soft drinks on ice, and the meager creosote desert that comprise clouds past the thirsty prairie at Wolf Hole, monument was created in January 2000, but low-clearance sport-utility vehicles, or with paved roads, no facilities— no developments, air-conditioners hissing, we skirt casinos the Lake Mead uplands. down to where an American flag whip­ping it didn’t last. Curious tourists expecting an ordinary tires. I spot a black stain from a no gas stations, no convenience stores.” at Mesquite, Nevada, on Interstate 15 near “Five years ago we only marked two,” he in the wind at the one-room white school- easy ride encountered instead a profound punctured oil pan trailing away from a • the Nevada-Arizona border, and round reports. “This time we know of six others.” house at the old community of Mount Trum- wilderness without one full-time resident. pointy rock, a reminder that only moun- I’m still blithely unaware of these issues onto Grand Wash Road, past a small sign Feral burros regularly encroach, he says, bull provides the only bright color in an While beauty marks occur here and tain bikers and devoted outback explorers as I turn out of clean sheets on a bed in an announcing the “Arizona State Line.” The devouring food required by the tortoises, otherwise drab juniper landscape at 4,000

36 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 37 [above] This historic ranch house, built in 1936 at Tassi Spring, along with corrals and waters tanks scattered nearby tell the story of early ranch life in the remote Parashant monument. [right] On Mount Logan in the southeastern section of the monument, an autumn sunset casts golden light on rabbit brush, sagebrush and orange- leafed Gambel oaks. [far right] Twin Point, a remote spot accessible only by high- clearance vehicles, provides seldom-seen spectacular views of the western Grand Canyon and Burnt Canyon. feet elevation. A mailbox and fire hydrant bears the same name of a nearby mountain, ground. The schoolhouse has since been logs culled from the nearby 7,866-foot brand 15 to 16 mavericks on a trip,” he Location: North of the Grand Canyon elsewhere offer touches of humor because coincided with a 1916 homestead act. The restored. Mount Logan raise opaque clouds of gray recalls. “It was fun when you look back at in the extreme northwestern corner of the state known as the Arizona Strip. neither service is available there. Mormon farmers who tried their luck ate a Bundy grumbled, “I guess I lay that [fire] dust that hang like a fog through the for- it now.” Getting There: Due to the extreme Orvel Bundy, 70, of St. George comes lot of dust before they finally gave up and on the monument [designation]. It brings a est, causing me to ponder the words of The wind that whistles across the open remoteness and inherent dangers closest to being the only full-time resident pulled out. A few hangers-on keep seasonal lot more people.” Reed Mathis, a 97-year-old cowboy who’s spaces of Shivwits Plateau plays a siren of Parashant monument, the BLM urges travelers on the Parashant, and he even pays Arizona places. That night McDonald and I throw-down been chased plenty by his own dust out song for Mathis, and he keeps going back. to obtain a map and updated road conditions and start their journey at its St. George, Utah, office. To property tax, but he isn’t at his place when The Bundys were so numerous here- at 6,500 feet in a ponderosa pine forest near here. Mathis, of St. George, keeps a sea- “It’s hard country,” says the old cowboy, get to St. George from Flagstaff, drive north on we drive through. I telephone him and his abouts that Mount Trumbull is just as a BLM camp below 8,029-foot Mount Trum- sonal place near Mount Dellenbaugh by “but if I had to do it again, I would.” U.S. Route 89, then follow the fork to 89A over the wife Sally, 69, in St. George later. often referred to as “Bundyville.” Bundys bull. There’s a spigot right on the curve of Twin Spring Canyon in some of the tough­ I wonder if I would, I ask myself, as Navajo Bridge and on to Fredonia. There, drive west Bundy was born at Mount Trumbull fill the settlement’s cemetery behind the the road for good, cold water, and 50 yards est country in the Parashant. dust swirling across my windshield gets on State Route 389, which changes to Utah Route and remains firmly rooted in a new house schoolhouse. away a sign marks the trail to the Uinkaret “The Strip’s always dirty because that’s thicker. Dust in summer, spring and fall, 59, and follow 59 to I-15 and on to St. George. Travel Advisory: Services and lodging are available on land homesteaded by his father where “I went to school there until the fifth Pueblo, a tumble-down Puebloan village what it is, dirty country,” Mathis says in a snow in winter, and gooey mud following at Fredonia; Colorado City, Arizona; St. George, Utah; the road begins its climb up the Hurricane grade,” Bundy says. Sally was among the at Nixon Spring, and to a fantastic moun- telephone interview. “I was out there when the sudden storms that crackle across the and Mesquite, Nevada. Maps for the Arizona Strip, Cliffs. He runs 140 cattle on the monument last teachers at Mount Trumbull in 1960- taintop view. we used to get 10 inches of rain in the sum- highlands make the Parashant a motoring including the Grand Canyon-Parashant National and looks after them regularly. On wind- 61. The next year the school closed for lack Or, visitors can go left at the Y-intersection mertime, and now we get 2.” adventure any time of year. Monument, can be purchased from the BLM office at 345 E. Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah, or with less days, the silence can be deafening, he of pupils and teachers. by the camp for 3.3 miles to the turnoff to He’s sure that wild mavericks, inbred a credit card by calling (435) 688-3246. Tourists are tells us. The schoolhouse, he said, doubled as the trailhead for the Nampaweap Rock Art cattle with large horns and skinned knees Tom Kuhn of Phoenix often seeks adventure in some of advised to call that number before venturing out. “The only disturbance are the airplanes. both church and community center. As a Site. Corn symbols, animal and stick figures from scaling steep canyons, still live in the Arizona’s wildest places. He also wrote the “Destination” Warning: The BLM urges Parashant travelers to equip I can just haul back and holler just as loud young man, Bundy danced there to piano stand out on desert-varnished lava rock perpendicular canyons that feed into the story in this issue. their vehicles with 4- or 6-ply tires and carry two good spares. Bring all the water, food and gasoline you’ll need. as I can, and it goes off one cliff to another, and banjo music. Sadly, on July 31, 2000, around a volcanic vent, including what Grand Canyon, a fact confirmed by both Robert McDonald of Flagstaff was impressed with the solitude and wide open spaces of Grand Canyon-Parashant Additional Information: Bureau of Land and I don’t disturb nobody.” vandals torched the schoolhouse and a looks like a figure of man kicking a ball. the BLM and NPS. National Monument, and he recommends it for those who Management, St. George, Utah, office, (435) 688-3200; The settling of Mount Trumbull, which church at Tuweep, burning both to the All afternoon lumber trucks hauling “We would take a pack outfit in there, want to get away from the crowds. www.azblm.gov.

38 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 39 {highway to humor} Jokes, Witticisms and Whatchamacallits by Todd R. Berger | illustration by Regan Dunnick {along the way}

perspective CERTAINLY NOT A PH. D. OBEDIENCE TRAINING u n u s u a l Coconino County in northern Not the Kind of Music You’d Expect When You’re Deep in the Forest uring a visit to the was sitting with my dog, Arizona is big enough to hold all of Massachusetts, Rhode Island Arizona‑Sonora Desert who needed a checkup, in lllllinkkkk . . . blllllinkkkk both “yuck” and “wow” at the same time. D I and Connecticut with a few miles left over . . . just in case Vermont Museum just outside Tucson, I the waiting room at a Willcox . . . blllllinkkkk. I’m no bison expert, and Maija isn’t either. wants to come for a visit.—Linda Perret was enjoying watching the veterinary establishment. I B “Whassat?” I ask blearily, eyes still We agree we aren’t sure whether a bison would antics of the coatimundis. These noticed a sign that read: closed and the hood of my sleeping bag wrapped charge us with his substantial head, or worse, inquisitive mammals with their “DOCTOR WILL BE WITH YOU swinging rope, suspended from giving up and going home. around my ears. trample us in our tent in some out-of‑control facial masks and banded tails IN A MINUTE. SIT—STAY.” from a crumbling outcropping Herm Albright, Indianapolis, IN It’s 5 a.m. at our campsite in the Kaibab one‑bison stampede. Despite the risk of getting were always comical and Ruth Burke, Bowie on Mount Everest. Ten were National Forest overlooking Marble Canyon stepped on, we decide it best to watch from the charming. Nearby, I blonde, one was a brunette. fear of heights prevents near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. tent rather than climb out and greet our early noticed a lady {early day arizona} As a group, they decided that A many people from climbing I’m groggy, and my back feels like I’ve been morning guest. tourist studying Little boy: “The preacher said there is no marrying in one of the party should let go. mountains. That’s not my hauling construction cinder blocks for two As the sun rises, we grow braver and unzip the identification heaven.” If that didn’t happen, the rope concern. I fear the depths. weeks straight. The tent door is zipped shut. My the tent door entirely, leaving but a mosquito sign closely and Little girl: “Of course not. There wouldn’t be enough would break and everyone would Guy Belleranti, Tucson tentmate, Maija, sits bolt upright. screen and 10 feet of red dirt between us and the looking somewhat men there to go around.” perish. For an agonizing few Blllllinkkkk . . . blllllinkkkk . . . blllllinkkkk. woolly animal. Bored with the guitar, he sniffs puzzled. She Coconino Sun (Flagstaff), November 30, 1893 moments, no one volunteered. learned the hard way. It’s very “I think there’s something out there,” Maija around the site, perhaps looking for snacks, or moved on to a Finally the brunette gave a I hard to reach the mountain says, looking at my prone body, obviously possibly another musical instrument. Luckily, smaller sign nearby, truly touching speech, saying peak when you’re past your peak. hoping for some manly action on my part. I have my harmonica in the tent; I imagine it which further explained that MOUNTAIN CLIMBING she would sacrifice herself to Tom Padovano, Jackson Heights, NY Blllllinkkkk . . . blllllinkkkk . . . would be difficult to expel bison spit from its coatimundis are often called just We asked our readers for save the lives of the others. blllllinkkkk. tiny holes. “coatis.” Her face lit up. She mountain climbing jokes, The blondes applauded. DIRECTION SEEKER “Grghklk,” I say as I sit up, He ambles around the site, stands at the called out to her husband, “Look and here’s a sample of what George Williams, Trona, CA tourist came to a fork in blinking the sleep from my eyes. edge of the cliff to take in the view and pays here, Harry. They’re runnin’ a they sent: A the road. He leaned out the Maija looks alarmed. absolutely no attention to the two gawking zoo here and don’t even know ountain climbing and car window and spoke to a ranch Next we hear clop, clop, humans watching his every move for about how to spell ‘coyote.’ ” leven people were clinging Mmarriage are alike. hand mending a barbed-wire fence. clop. Then a tinny jangle, an hour. John A. Ward, Tucson E precariously to a wildly Sometimes with both, you “Does it make any difference which as though someone has Then he disappears from our triangle‑shaped have to hang on for dear life. road I take to the Grand Canyon?” dropped a small sack of field of vision. Joy Bryant, Tucson The ranch hand laid down his aluminum cans to the “I’m going out,” I say boldly, trying to recall wire cutters and grinned. “Not hard ground. the karate moves I learned in high school. I Heat Strokes B y G a r y B e n n e t t hen I was 16 and my kid to me!” I am sort of awake now, consider my unzipping of the mosquito net an Wbrother, Kent, was 12, we Jay Richards, Menlo Park, CA and slowly begin to unzip act of extreme bravery. were enjoying a week of climbing the tent door to investigate. Poking my head above the tent and looking high in the Rocky Mountains, TECHNO BABBLE The sun begins to rise, backward, I see him sniffing our car (which returning to base camp each ’m continually impressed with but the light remains dim. I contains all of our food). The doors are locked, evening. One morning as we I how easily children take to roll to my side and cock my and I’m relieved, although I doubt even a bumpy had climbed about halfway up a technology. My young niece Lisa head to peek out the bottom tongue of that magnitude could lift a door handle. 12,000-foot mountain, I glanced saw a spider crawling along its left corner of the tent door. I I step outside, keeping one eye on the bison at to the southwest to see a severe web and remarked, “There’s a can just make out a large, dark, all times. Maija follows me out, craning her neck thunderstorm headed our way. spider spinning on his Web site!” furry mass in the middle of our to look at the guitar‑licking, car-sniffing bison. I remarked, “In about 30 Jared Whitley, Salt Lake City, UT campsite, not 10 feet from the tent. We sit down on a log and simply watch, feeling minutes, we’re going to be in the It’s a portly bison — steaming breath puffing from awe for this enormous animal — now that we middle of lightning, thunder and {reader’s corner} his nostrils — standing in the middle of our fire have a good 50 feet between us. pelting rain.” he cook on a chuck wagon circle and our camping gear. Slowly, sampling the grasses in the field Kent replied with a serious T acted not only as a cook, Hardly in a hurry, the bison strolls back behind the campsite along the way, he moves question, “Is it true that water but also as a doctor, barber and over to Maija’s guitar, leaning against a log. on to the gravel access road that had brought us attracts lightning?” caretaker. It was the Old West Blllllinkkkk . . . blllllinkkkk . . . blllllinkkkk. Not here and heads off into the forest. “Yes, that is definitely the version of a soccer mom. exactly “Smoke on the Water,” but it seems Maija picks up her guitar, which is moist. truth,” I answered. “Why do Our topic this month is our bison is playing a little ditty by licking the There’s that look again, more “yuck” than “wow” you ask?” cooks or cooking. Send us strings of the guitar, perhaps a buffalo version of this time. With fear in his eyes, he your jokes, and we’ll pay $50 “Home on the Range.” It takes us an hour to pack up our site, and we explained, “Gosh! I drank about for each one we publish. His tongue is bumpy, a little grayish and hop into the car to drive the 20 or so miles to the a quart of water just a few as big as an oven mitt. The bumpiness of his Grand Canyon Lodge for breakfast. A mile down minutes ago.” TO SUBMIT HUMOR: Send your jokes tongue probably is the closest thing the bison the road, there he is. The bison steps into the and humorous Arizona anecdotes to Wendell Petty, Twin Falls, ID Humor, Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis has to a pick. woods as we approach, and we drive slowly by, Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009 or e-mail I sit back up, look at Maija, and impart, “It’s stretching our necks again for one last view of us at [email protected]. hy do mountain climbers Please include your name, address a bison. And he’s playing your guitar with his our morning visitor. He ignores us, and we drive "Pick a card, any card." rope themselves together? and telephone number with each tongue.” on down the access rode, spitty guitar safely (The origin of the "What a Hoot Owl") W submission. To keep the sensible ones Maija gives me a look that expresses stowed in the trunk.

40 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 41 {back road adventure} by Tom Carpenter

Historic Apache Trail Runs the Gamut of Geographic Features

he essence of Arizona lies along State the shoreline of the Salt River through the Route 88, the Apache Trail. All of the Mazatzal Mountains for a thousand years, Tstate’s essential qualities are visible here and the fertile soil in the Salt River Valley — desert, mountains, water, sky, past, present enticed the first settlers to restore canals and future — between Apache Junction, east built by the ancient Hohokam people. of Phoenix, and Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Agriculture thrived and the ­population The 37-mile trip takes about two and a grew. By 1872, a thousand ­families quarter hours due to steep mountain grades, lived in the Salt River Valley. countless curves, brief stops and stretches of The unpredictable hydrologic cycle of one-way traffic. The last 21 miles are unpaved. drought and flood kept the Salt ­uncontrollable. To begin, drive U.S. Route 60 eastward from By 1889, the idea of reclamation gained Mesa to Apache Junction. political momentum nationally. Storing Turn on the Idaho Road runoff for irrigation during dry times would Exit 196 and drive north on ­sustain arid lands for agriculture. On June 17, State 88 into town about 2.2 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed miles, where 88 turns right. into law the National Reclamation Act. Mileage references begin In a narrow gorge below the ­confluence of at the border of the Tonto Tonto Creek and the Salt River, a three-man National Forest, which is survey team selected the site for a stone-masonry marked with a sign. Set your dam that would rise 280 feet above bedrock and odometer to zero. Because the would eventually cost $10.3 million to construct. dirt road is well maintained, The first 6-ton stone was laid on September 20, passenger cars will have 1906. Its namesake, former President Roosevelt, no clearance problems. dedicated the dam on March 18, 1911. Before there was an Apache Before the first granite block could be Trail, which was designated laid, however, a road had to be built that as Arizona’s first historic and could bring men, equipment, materials and scenic highway in 1988, ­supplies from Mesa and Phoenix to the dam there was the Salt River. site. Road construction began in 1904, and Native cultures traveled mule teams started hauling freight wagons a

[above] Scarlet chuparosa and golden brittlebush flowers brighten the course of a small stream near the Apache Trail in the Superstition Wilderness east of Phoenix. jerry sieve [right] Theodore Roosevelt Lake and the distant Sierra Ancha mountains stretch to the horizon in a view from the lower ruin at Tonto National Monument. richard maack [opposite page] With the Country Store Ice Cream Parlor known for prickly pear ice cream, Tortilla Flat, population 6, is a favorite stop along the paved portion of the Apache Trail. jerry sieve

42 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com { back road adventure}

year later. Apache laborers helped build the a spirit-lifting view of water at Canyon Lake freight along this road. road, which was dubbed the Apache Trail. Vista at mile 6.6. Retained by the completion As a rule of thumb, Beginning at the unmarked Apache Gap, at of the Mormon Flat Dam in 1926, Canyon one horse or mule can mile 4.6, and for the next 5 miles this stretch Lake has a surface area of 950 acres and pull 1 ton of freight. of the Goldfield Mountains was referred to as attracts more than 250,000 visitors annually. While eight- and

[below] Vibrant fuschia the ­“Little Alps.” President Roosevelt said, “The The wagon trip from Mesa to the dam site 12-mule teams were hedgehog cactus blossoms Apache Trail combines the grandeur of the Alps, took three days. Tortilla Flat was the first common, 20-horse command attention amid the glory of the Rockies and the magnificence of overnight stop, 11.3 miles on the odometer. teams were also used a profusion of Sonoran Desert flora, including the Grand Canyon, and then adds an indefinable (Fish Creek was the second.) Tortilla Flat on the Apache Trail. yellow brittlebushes and something that none of the others has. To me today is a friendly place. Although you won’t Mules were preferred prickly pear, cholla and it is the most awe-inspiring and most sublimely need to stay the night, take the time to enjoy to horses because of saguaro cacti. jerry sieve beautiful panorama nature has ever created.” a snack on the saddle stools in the ­restaurant their stamina and their [opposite page] Tonto National Monument The Four Peaks to the northeast, at an and ask about the origin of the name. willingness to step over features remnants of the elevation of 7,657 feet, are the source of a The paved road ends at 16.7 miles, and the long chains used ancient Salado culture in vivid purple precious stone called Four Peaks the Fish Creek Hill Scenic Vista, uphill 2 to connect them to the cliff dwellings dating as far back as the 13th century. amethyst. more miles, is where you can reflect on the freight wagon and water richard maack Drivers along Apache Trail will first encounter ­challenges faced by teamsters who moved wagon. This ease with the chains was critical on Fish Creek Hill. With its tight turns and steep grade, the middle teams would have to step over the 80-foot chain and walk artifacts of the ancient agrarian Salado Indian Vehicle Requirements: ­sideways until the road straightened. culture that occupied these pueblos. To reach Passenger car. If there’s a heaven for turkey vultures, the lower ruins requires a moderately strenuous Travel Advisory: The Apache Trail is it’s in the thermals above Fish Creek. half-mile uphill hike. The solitude and natural well traveled, but the There is no more graceful bird in flight. beauty found there proves worth the effort. road is narrow and At mile 24.5, drivers will first glimpse Apache There are two ways back to the Phoenix much of it unpaved. Lake, which measures 17 miles long and was area: Drive south on 188 to U.S. 60, then west Use extra care, particularly at Fish Creek Hill, where it narrows to one- created by the completion of Horse Mesa Dam through Superior and back to Apache Junction, way and descends 1,000 feet along in 1927. The road follows the gorge, rising and about 85 miles. The faster route is longer: Head a 15 to 17 percent grade. Turnouts falling with the contours of the land, sometimes north across Roosevelt Dam on 188 up to the accommodate oncoming traffic. as close as 15 feet from the lake’s surface. Beeline Highway (State Route 87), then south Warning: Back road travel can be The Theodore Roosevelt Dam looms into view on 87 back to Mesa in less than two hours. hazardous if you are not prepared for the unexpected. Whether traveling at mile 36.5. The masonry face of the ­original Anyone looking for the “real” ­Arizona in the desert or in the high country, dam was covered with concrete and raised 77 feet can always find it on the Apache Trail. be aware of weather and road in 1996 to accommodate a revised calculation conditions, and make sure you and M Theodore Roosevelt your vehicle are in top shape. Carry of a “probable maximum flood.” A bridge AZ A 188 Lake TZ plenty of water, and let someone had to be built to divert traffic off AL M know where you’re going and when O Roosevelt the dam. Completed in 1990, UNT AINS Dam To Globe you plan to return. Odometer readings the Roosevelt Lake Bridge Four Peaks in the story may vary by vehicle. 88 dditional nformation is a thing of beauty, and TONTO NATIONAL A I : ranks as the longest two- MONUMENT Tonto National Forest, Mesa Ranger District, (480) 610-3300; River lane, single-span, steel-arch lt Sa Apache Tonto Basin District (928) 467- bridge in North America. Lake 3200, www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto. Saguaro This classic Arizona road Lake Canyon trip wouldn’t be ­complete Lake

ELD FI INS F without a visit to the Tonto LD NTA Tortilla is O OU h G M Flat Creek National Monument, SU P 88 ER 4 miles southeast of ST ITI ON Roosevelt Dam on State M N OU NTAIN Route 188, which Apache S leads to Miami Junction TONTO NATIONAL FOREST and Globe. The Idaho Road START HERE visitors center 60 To Mesa Exit 196 60

displays cultural To Globe KEVIN KIBSEY

arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 45 {destination} by Tom Kuhn | photographs by David H. Smith

Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch Offers Birds a Five-Star Rest

art of the great Pacific Flyway for easier, or more comfortable. On those days when migratory waterfowl passes right over the weather is fit only for waterfowl, you can P Arizona’s deserts, but not all the wild scan the preserve from a rocker in the library. ducks, geese and shorebirds fly past. Many Plenty of parking is available in the library lot. now linger in metropolitan areas like Phoenix Wildlife and people coexist placidly at and Tucson, attracted by park ponds and golf the Water Ranch. Occasionally, parts of the courses — and the prospect of regular handouts. preserve are closed for nesting. Otherwise, Those birds that discover the five-star you’re free to walk around and watch birds. habitat settle in, soon become citified and Or go fishing. The Arizona Game and Fish [below] Fulfilling approachable. Their gaudy plumage makes Department stocks some of the preserve’s the vision of being a them favorites with urban bird-watchers. ponds with largemouth bass, channel premiere education and The water birds find a particularly catfish, crappie and sunfish. Carplike white recreation resource, the Riparian Preserve at comfy habitat in the town of Gilbert, a amur forage the lake bottom to keep the Water Ranch in Gilbert metropolitan Phoenix bedroom suburb, lake free of aquatic weeds. Rainbow trout welcomes visitors of where treated wastewater creates artificial are stocked during the winter months. all ages, such as this budding angler. wetlands and ponds designed especially “My biggest fish was a 6-pound cat, [bottom] Bulrushes for waterfowl — and bird-watchers. caught right here, on shrimp,” said registered along the lake shore At the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, nurse Anthony T. Belcher of Gilbert, while provide habitat for located near Guadalupe and Greenfield roads, bottom fishing near the library. Belcher bass, sunfish, bluegills, tilapias and crappie that an $8.5-million, 66,000-square-foot library often heads for the preserve after a night spawn in the shallows. is well stocked with bird books. The entire shift in a hospital emergency room. back of the library — built by The main pond of the 110-acre Water Ranch New York, several years ago. She pointed to a says the Audubon Society may put the Water the town and operated by is lined, but seven other holding ponds aren’t, novel sight, for her. “That’s a real water pump,” Ranch on its regular bird-watching list. the Maricopa County Library to allow effluent to seep into the ground table. she said. “It keeps the children occupied.” In “A portion of the preserve is critical habitat,” District — is a glass observatory The town pumps most of its water from wells. addition, she said, the library offers nighttime he said. Most people who visit the preserve “walk looking onto the main “lake.” Water Ranch is the largest and most stargazing, bird-watching and nature walks. around the lake and hardly ever see these areas,” “It’s a busy library,” said developed of two riparian preserves created Alas, for now, one learning opportunity has located farthest from the library and park. county library spokesman James with Gilbert effluent. The 72-acre Riparian been withdrawn. “The children used a pay phone Pets must be leashed. “We’ve released McGovern. Completed along with Preserve at Neely Ranch, located at Guadalupe in the playground to call 9-1-1,” Rivera said. “A some burrowing owls out there,” Anderson the preserve in 1999, the library and Cooper roads, opened in 1990. couple of the boys were just learning how to said. “We want to make sure they stay circulates about a million items Recharging the groundwater is the principle dial. A Gilbert policeman responded. We came around and nest there,” he said. a year. “We work together [with function of the preserves, Water Ranch preserve back this week and the phone was gone.” He acknowledged that mosquitoes hatch in the town] on adult programs, director Scott Anderson said. Instead of using The library has plenty of parking and is the ponds, but insisted, “What happens to occur and also do some collection injection wells, they’re doing it in a way that’s a convenient starting point for the Water out in the preserve is either eaten or our water in support of the preserve.” a bit more natural, he said. “The wastewater Ranch walks. A concrete walkway along doesn’t stand long enough to be a problem.” Bird-watching couldn’t be is put in those basins and allowed to percolate one shore of the main pond provides handy Anderson directs a preserve-based outreach into the ground, and also creates a bird habitat. access for the handicapped, and is popular program for local schools. “Part of our mission,” “The water is treated to tertiary quality,” with armchair anglers. The children’s park is he said, “is to provide hands-on experience for Anderson explained, “which means it’s across the steel bridge at the head of the lake. schools. Kids can come out and participate. almost potable water. We add chlorine when The highest point in the preserve is a mound We’ll supply them with binoculars and teach

it’s put into the ponds; it’s pretty clean.” capped by a small covered amphitheater across them how to identify birds. We have other [top] Constructed in Anderson, formerly the town’s planning the lake. There, recirculated water gushes programs: astronomy and archaeology.” conjunction with the director, said the preserve immediately back into the lake, adding oxygen to the preserve, the Gilbert began attracting waterfowl. “The population water and creating a popular fishing spot. Location: Approximately 10 Library holds special miles southeast of Phoenix. collections of books on grows every year,” he reported. Crushed-gravel paths take visitors through Getting There: From Phoenix, take U.S. riparian areas and offers Not surprising. Although park officials metal gates deeper into the preserve, past a 60 east to Greenfield Road. Turn right educational programs discourage feeding wildlife, visitors toss chicken reminder sign that the back area is “maintained (south) and drive approximately 2 miles for children and adults. [above] Among the feed to the waterfowl. And within the town’s as a peaceful wetland preserve for fish and to Guadalupe Road. Turn east and travel one-quarter of a mile to the entrance, shorebirds found at the limits, the birds are safe from hunters — almost. wildlife to enjoy.” Brushy shorelines and an preserve, the great blue which is located on the south side of the road. heron feeds mainly on “One day we saw a coyote,” said former Gilbert artificial brook provide cover for waterfowl. Hours: Dawn until dusk. small fish, but also eats maintenance worker Edward Chappel. Puddle ducks such as mallards are drawn ees None. F : lizards, snakes, frogs, A children’s park just across the main pond like a magnet by two tilled, shallow wetland Events: Feathered Friends Festival on April 9. insects and small birds. ravel dvisory The heaviest Pacific Flyway migration from the library includes picnic ramadas, covered areas within the preserve. A September bird- T A : paul and joyce berquist occurs in early autumn and early spring. Take binoculars play areas and grassy knolls. “There’s a lot watching expedition discovered shovelbills and and a bird identification book. for them to do,” said Kathleen Rivera, whose gadwalls, American coots, teals and a variety Additional Information: Riparian Institute, (480) 503- family moved to Gilbert from Long Island, of wading and shoreline birds. Anderson 6744, www.riparianinstitute.org.

46 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 47 {hike of the month} by Christine Maxa | photographs by Morey K. Milbradt

Coffee Flat Trail Has Wilderness in Abundance, But No Java

ut in the eastern Superstition ­ Coffee Flat for the basin located at the western Wilderness, life looks a little ­different. end of the trail. An alternate explanation for O The volcanic formations that keep the Coffee Flat’s ­curious name involves mining lore. western portion of the wilderness so popular ­Prospectors would head to Reeds Water, a water stand as 5,000-foot-high mountains in the eastern source located next to the basin, to make coffee. high country. Juniper trees replace saguaro The trail lands back on the canyon floor cacti. Wildlife appears more often than people. and resumes weaving across the drainage. The electric atmosphere of Whetstone Spring, at about mile 3, ­presents the western wilderness, with its a soggy stretch that may force hikers to walk mining legends and local lore, carefully alongside a string of pools in a ­willow calms down in the aloof eastern thicket. Hikers should watch for the stacks wilderness where ranching once of cairns just beyond the pools, ­signaling reigned. The 7.6-mile-long ­Coffee the trail’s brief climb up the south wall. Flat Trail, near the south-­central Nearing Dripping Spring, the ­environment boundary of the ­Superstition turns riparian. At the oasislike setting Wilderness between the JF where Fraser Canyon ends at right-angled Headquarters and Fraser ­Canyon, ­Randolph Canyon, cottonwood trees connects these two worlds. line large pools of water sunk in salmon- The hike starts on a road closed ­colored bedrock. The spring lies just beyond to vehicles. The road travels about the confluence on the south wall. a mile to the JF ­Headquarters This hike ends at Dripping Spring, about mile and the start of the trail. Jack 3.5, where hikers can turn around and return Fraser pioneered the ranch a few the way they came. For a longer hike, some years after prospectors started may opt to continue west in Randolph Canyon ­searching for the Lost Dutchman to the trail’s end at Coffee Flat. Along the way, Mine. Fraser sold the ranch to the hikers will pass the old watering hole, Reeds ­Clemans Cattle Co. in 1909, and Water, at about mile 5. Hikers may not find any the operation eventually ran 8,000 coffee cups there, but they will get a glimpse of to 10,000 head of cattle. Today, the countryside that added to the Superstition only 50 cattle graze the area. ­Mountains’ notoriety. The trail follows along Fraser Location: About 60 Canyon, where the drainage transitions from [left] With a sturdy walking stick in hand, a hiker miles east of Phoenix. shallow and shapeless to narrow and scenic. ambles toward a hillside dotted with prickly pear, cholla and saguaro cacti along the Coffee Flat Trail in the Getting There: Drive Cairns direct hikers as the trail winds back and east on U.S. Route 60 Superstition Wilderness. from Phoenix about 2 forth across the canyon floor. Thick forests of [right] Feathery clouds provide a delicate counterpoint miles east of Florence saguaro cacti, some more than a century old, to spiky saguaro cacti and a massive rock outcropping in Junction, and turn north cover sections of the south-facing wall of the Fraser Canyon. (left) onto Queen Valley Road. Drive canyon. At about mile 2, the trail 2 miles and turn east (right) onto Hewitt Station Road (Forest Service climbs up into the cactus forest, Road 357). Drive 3 miles and turn edging past ancient giants. TONTO NATIONAL FOREST left onto unpaved Forest Service Before the path descends SUPERSTITION WILDERNESS Road 172, which requires four-wheel SU the canyon wall, hikers can PE drive. Drive 12 miles to the Woodbury RS TI view the cuts of the canyon TIO Trailhead parking lot. Hike back about N M system in the distant OUN a thousand feet to the closed road TAINS that leads to the Coffee Flat Trail. west. Shadowed ridges Additional Information: Apache acutely chiseled by the Junction n. JF Headquarters Tonto National Forest, Mesa Cy elements mark the ph TRAILHEAD ol . Ranger District, (480) 610-3300, d yn an C general area where R r www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto. 60 se ra Dripping Spring lies. F To Phoenix 2 7 1 Hikers might see R jojoba bushes — 5-foot-tall F Hewitt Station N bushes with gray-green oval Road 60 leaves — on the canyon slope. Queen Valley Before you go on this 357 Road FR Superior hike, visit our Web site The old ­cowboys called these 60 at arizonahighways.com TONTO NATIONAL FOREST for other things to do and places bushes “coffeeberry,” which might Florence to see in the area. Junction have prompted the name 79 KEVIN KIBSEY

48 JANUARY 2005 arizonahighways.com PERALTA STONES: Maps to Lost Dutchman’s Gold—or Hoax?

arizonahighways.com january 2005

Pinal

CountyScenery That Makes You Want to Stay Awhile

Driving the Historic Apache Trail How to Kiss An Ostrich Fun With the Big Birds The Happiest Valley In the Rincons A Hidden Escape for Hikers and Campers